May is a wonderful time for families to visit the Cotswolds, as summer makes its approaching presence known with warmer days and sunshine.
 
From picture perfect villages and technicolour gardens to intriguing history and glorious landscapes in full spring bloom, there is so much to see and do.
 
Although the natural beauty is certainly enough, the Cotswolds has so much more to offer. There’s loads of fun things the whole family can enjoy across the region – take a look at our handy ‘Top 10 things to do in the Cotswolds’ and you’ll see what we mean!

And, with festivals, quirky traditions and shows in full swing, check out our top 10 Cotswold events for the May half term holiday and make your next break the most memorable one yet.

1 Lechlade Music Festival

Lechlade Music Festival by Jennie Rainsford

Where: Riverside Park, Lechlade GL7 3AG (nearest postcode)
When: May 27 – 29 2016
Details: The Proclaimers will be filling the airwaves over Lechlade’s Riverside Park when the band headlines this year’s family-friendly festival. 70+ performers take to a trio of stages playing everything from rock to reggae, jazz to folk – and plenty more besides! But it’s not all just about the music – among the wide range of other entertainments on offer will be workshops (storytelling, drumming, belly dancing and more) and the vaudeville acts of Missy Malone and Friends. Free tickets for kids 16 and under make Lechlade an affordable and fun weekend for all.

2 Cotswold Festival of Steam: ‘Swindon Built’

© GWSR

Where: Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, Toddington GL54 5DT
When: May 28 – 30 2016
Details: Whether you are a ‘railway nut’ or a family looking for a brilliant day out, this steam spectacular is just the ticket. Eight locomotives are expected to star in steam, all but one ‘Swindon Built’, the odd one out being the massive ‘Merchant Navy’ class pacific, in passenger service for the first time in over 50 years! Recapture the excitement of train travel of yesteryear at this brilliant weekend filled with plenty of entertainment for all ages. Ride the rails on the footplate; talk to the drivers; take a ‘Brake on a Freight’; see the ever-popular steam traction engines and test drive the refreshments at Winchcombe. Everyone will be well chuffed!

3 Blenheim Palace Food Festival

© Blenheim Palace

Where: Blenheim Palace, Woodstock OX20 1PP
When: May 28 – 31 2016, 10am – 5pm
Details: Serving something for everyone to enjoy, the second annual Blenheim Palace Food Festival is sure to be a delicious day out. This three-day feast of food and drink showcases the best in local and regional produce through cookery demos, children’s workshops, talks, foraging fun and scores of stalls packed with edibles. The line up includes the 2015 Great British Bake Off and Masterchef finalists Tamal Ray and Tony Rodd, while kids will be spoilt for choice with garden games, face painting, a roaming storyteller, vintage rides and more. Plus a hay bale-filled picnic area where passionate foodies can relax in the stunning setting of one of the UK’s most magnificent country houses.

4 Spinning Through the Ages

© Cotswold Farm Park

Where: Cotswold Farm Park, Bemborough Farm, Kineton GL54 5UG
When: May 28 – June 5 2016
Details: This bucolic farm park, run by farmer and Countryfile presenter Adam Henson, offers youngsters a real taste of farm life, with its prolific collection of rare breed animals and stacks of family activities. Over the half term holiday, check out the wonderful Gloucestershire guild of spinners and weavers who will be wearing their best period costumes and demonstrating wool craft from different time periods. It’s peak shearing time and they are making the most of their woolly harvest and offering you the chance to have a go too!

5 Cheese-Rolling

Cheese-rolling down Cooper’s Hill by Michael Warren

Where: Cooper’s Hill, near Brockworth GL3 4SB
When: May 30 2016, 12pm (midday)
Details: Roll up to this oddball event which has been held for at least 200 years at Cooper’s Hill. Although its origins are somewhat murky, it has become a popular spectator sport, with more than 15,000 people turning up one year. Hundreds of contestants fling themselves down a precipitous hill after an eighteen-pound wheel of Double Gloucester, which can gather furious speeds of up to 70mph. The first one to reach it wins – and no prizes for guessing what. You can now even take part on your iPhone with a newly developed cheese-rolling app!

6 Giffords Circus 2016 – The Painted Wagon

Gifford’s Circus (‘Lucky 13’ in 2013) by Joe Saunders

Where: The Cotswolds and London (see website for information)
When: May 13 – September 25 2016
Details: Come on down to the whip-crackin’, horse-wranglin’, hell-raisin’ Giffords Circus show. The 2016 tour ‘The Painted Wagon’ will be coming to the Cotswolds and London from May 13 – rolling into Sudeley Castle between May 29 – 31 and Daylesford Organic Farm between June 3 – 6. Featuring the Giffords Circus colourful and thoroughly unusual troupe, this Wild West extravaganza of eye-catching acrobatics and aerialists from far and distant lands includes dancing horses, bounty hunting and gold panning, all to the beat of the ‘Dodge City’ Giffords Circus saloon band. Young circus-goers will be dazzled with its hilarity and high jinks!

7 Robert Dover’s Cotswold Olimpick Games

Image credit: Josiah Robinson © Robert Dover’s Games Society

Where: Dover’s Hill, above Chipping Campden
When: June 3 2016, 7.30pm
Details: Robert Dover’s Cotswold ‘Olimpick’ Games are celebrated every year, on the Friday after Spring Bank Holiday. Bands march, cannon fire, rustic activities and wrestling take place, and the evening is brought to a close with fireworks and a torchlight procession into Chipping Campden followed by dancing in the square. An annual highlight is the Shin Kicking Championship when a band of white-smock-clad competitors stuff straw down their trousers and grasp each other by the shoulders to land well-timed blows to their opponent’s shins!

8 Wychwood Festival

Wychwood Festival by Joe

Where: Cheltenham Race Course, Cheltenham GL50 4SH
When: June 3 – 5 2016
Details: There is so much for all ages to enjoy and take part in at this super relaxed and welcoming event, which has been nominated ‘Best Family Festival’ in the UK Festival Awards every year since its launch in 2005. Over the three days, you can expect to be entertained with more than 100 artists across four stages, blending world, roots and contemporary music. The headline acts for 2016 will be The Waterboys, 10cc and Bill Bailey. Add to that over 100 workshops for all ages, comedy performers, a kids’ literature festival, a real ale festival, silent discos, great food and loads more, and you have your perfect summer festival!

9 2nd Lechlade Vintage Rally & Show

© Lechlade Collectors Club

Where: Rough Grounds Farm, Lechlade GL7 3EU
When: June 4 – 5 2016
Details: Vintage vehicle fans will be able to admire classic cars, motorcycles, commercial vehicles, steam tractors, a model tent, classic caravans, model boats and more at this two-day show. Free for under 16 year olds, there’s plenty to entertain the kids, with karting, a bouncy castle, balloons and boats on the water. Complete with boot sales, trade stands, refreshments and free parking, the Lechlade Rally promises to be a great family outing!

10 World Pooh Sticks Championships

© Rotary Club of Oxford Spires

Where: Langel Common, Witney OX28 3LA
When: June 5 2016
Details: A A Milne’s whimsical invention is celebrated near Cogges Manor Farm in Witney, a filming location for ITV drama Downton Abbey. Pop along for a wonderful family day out with Winnie on the Windrush and you can compete as an individual on the day (or as a team in advance). The rules are simple, but the competition can be fierce! Everyone drops their stick in the river on one side of the bridge and the winner is the owner of the stick that emerges from the opposite side first. For Pooh Sticks glory, choose well your spot on the bridge – study the current, observe where it’s fastest. When you drop your stick, lean as low as possible over the bridge. But remember: Falling into the water is SAD (Silly And Daft)!

Where can I stay?

Why not fill your time with the best the Cotswolds has to offer this May half term with a relaxing stay at one of our luxury holiday cottages in the Cotswolds.